2021 was a challenging year, but the pandemic did not stop Europol from fighting crime. Europol successfully supported hundreds of significant operations and made a remarkable difference in making Europe safer for EU citizens.
Here are Europol’s six key highlights from 2021:
Economic and financial crime: Operation Jumita
Europol’s European Economic and Financial Crime Centre supported the Spanish Guardia Civil this year in dismantling a criminal network that was trafficking cocaine from South America to the Port of Algeciras in Spain. Operation Jumita resulted in the arrest of 29 people, the seizure of 1.6 tonnes of cocaine and the confiscation of €16.5 million, the largest cash seizure from a criminal organisation in Spain.
The European Economic and Financial Crime Centre was established to enhance Europol’s operational support to EU Member States and EU bodies in financial and economic crime. It supports operations that deal with highly sophisticated cases of money laundering, scams and fraud.
Counter-terrorism: right-wing extremist takedown in Finland
Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre supported the Finnish Police in dismantling a right wing extremist cell in Finland, leading to five arrests. During the investigation, Europol facilitated the information exchange and supported the case with operational analysis. On the action day, Europol deployed four experts to Finland to support the field activities. These experts provided technical expertise on the identification of extremist material and specialised analysis of the evidence discovered during police raids.
The European Counter Terrorism Centre was set up to function as an operations centre and hub of expertise that reflects the growing need for the EU to strengthen its response to terror. Its principal task is to provide operational support to Member States in investigations related to terrorist attacks.
Cybercrime: EMOTET takedown
Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre supported law enforcement and judicial authorities worldwide in the takedown of one of most significant botnets of the past decade, EMOTET. EMOTET is delivered to victims’ computers through emails which contain a malicious link or an infected document. If victims open the attachment or link, the malware is installed and criminals are able to install other types of malware onto a victim’s computer.
To disrupt EMOTET, law enforcement authorities gained control of the infrastructure and took it down from the inside. This is a new and unique approach to effectively disrupt this type of cybercrime.
The European Cybercrime Centre has made a significant contribution to the fight against cybercrime since it was founded at Europol in 2013. It aims to strengthen the law enforcement response to cybercrime in the EU and to help protect European citizens, businesses and governments from online crime.
Organised crime: Operation Trojan Shield/Greenlight
Europol’s European Serious & Organised Crime Centre supported major operations in 2021 to block the criminal use of encrypted communications, but among the most significant was Operation Trojan Shield/Greenlight.
The operation involved the strategic development and covert operation by law enforcement of an encrypted device company called ANOM. ANOM grew to service more than 12 000 encrypted devices and over 300 criminal syndicates operating in more than 100 countries.
As a result of the operation, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and 16 participating countries, supported by Europol and the US Drug Enforcement Agency, were able to exploit the intelligence from the 27 million messages obtained. This resulted in 800 arrests and the seizure of illegal drugs, firearms and over $48 million in various worldwide currencies and cryptocurrencies. This was an unprecedented display of international collaboration in the fight against encrypted criminal activities.
Criminal networks: illegal use of Sky ECC communications blocked
The European Serious & Organised Crime Centre also supported investigators in Belgium, France and the Netherlands in blocking the illegal use of Sky ECC encrypted communication by large-scale organised crime groups. By successfully unlocking the encryption of Sky ECC, the information acquired has provided insights into criminal activities in various EU Member States and beyond. This information has assisted in expanding investigations and solving serious and cross-border organised crime.
The European Serious and Organised Crime Centre supports EU countries in their fight against international criminal networks involved in drugs, weapons and explosives, property and environmental crime. The centre also hosts the European Migrant Smuggling Centre, which targets and dismantles the complex and sophisticated networks involved in migrant smuggling.
Flagship Europol report: Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2021
The Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) 2021 is a detailed analysis of the threat of serious and organised crime facing the EU. It provides information for practitioners, decision-makers and the wider public. As a threat assessment, SOCTA is a forward-looking document that assesses shifts in the serious and organised crime landscape. The 2021 report found that close to 40 % of the criminal networks active in the EU are involved in the trade of illegal drugs and around 60 % use violence as part of their criminal businesses.
SOCTA is produced by Europol’s Operational and Analysis Centre. This is Europol’s information hub in which specialists sort, handle and analyse all incoming information. The centre monitors operations and developments on a 24/7 basis and provides analysis to Europol’s other centres.
To read the latest news about law enforcement operations at Europol, visit our newsroom.
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